But yesterday, Jason Kidd, one of the biggest prizes in the upcoming NBA free-agent bonanza, uttered the words that everyone even remotely connected with the Nets desperately wanted to hear.

“New Jersey is my No. 1 choice.”

And if Kidd’s projection for the Nets – 60 wins this season – comes to fruition, there might not be any reason for him to look elsewhere.

“I never thought I’d be able to survive on the East Coast, being a West Coast kid, but it’s been great,” said Kidd, whose arrival in New Jersey last year sparked one of the most remarkable turnaround stories in all sports as the Nets rose from a 26-victory coffin and landed in the NBA Finals. “I would love to be an East Coast guy. Hopefully, I don’t have to go too far. If everything does work out, I can be a Net for the rest of my career.

“Winning and being around a great group of guys can make the decision a lot easier, and that’s what we have.”

From the start of training camp Tuesday until the final nano-second before he officially becomes a free agent, Kidd will be hounded about his decision.

He joked about it yesterday in midtown, where it was announced he will receive the Thurman Munson Award from the Association for the Help of Retarded Children at the 23rd Munson Awards Dinner Feb. 4.

“Maybe I’ll carry a cue card,” suggested Kidd, whose endorsements and popularity have soared since he came to New Jersey. “I’m playing it out. I have enjoyed being in New Jersey and this is my No. 1 choice. That will be my answer all year long. When they ask me that, you guys [media] can already have it written down, that New Jersey is my No. 1 choice.”

The only negative to the “Kidd Stays Put, Film and Thanksgiving Service at 11” story was the All-NBA first team selection acknowledging that even if he could, he wouldn’t re-up right now.

Kidd cannot re-sign with the Nets before next July because he still is on a contract that already has been extended. He signed an extension to his current pact while playing in Phoenix.

“Would I sign right now?” Kidd said. “Nooo. Why would I do that? It would be too easy. You’ve got to make them sweat. You’ve got to make Rod [Thorn, team president] nervous,” Kidd said with a big smile.

Kidd wants a title ring. His best way back to the Finals appears in the East. In the West, the hulking specter of Shaquille O’Neal remains. And Sacramento wasn’t far behind the Lakers. Plus, Kidd acknowledged his family “loves” New Jersey.

Kidd starred in and directed the Nets’ improbable 52-victory season that ended in the disappointing Finals sweep by the Lakers. But Net brass realized the ride could have ended at any given point in the playoffs. So Thorn re-made the team in the summer.

How much better? Try 60 victories worth. Kidd forecast 40 last year and most folks were ready to put him in a room with padding and crayons. This time, he declined to give a number at first. But after some prodding, he said the Nets could win 60.

“I think we can if we’re healthy. So now you have got the number,” Kidd said, smiling.